The In-Between Writing Plan

On By K.M. Allan

Writing a book takes time. Even if you’re a fast drafter and can put something together in a matter of weeks instead of months or years, working through the multiple drafts it takes to reach the final draft is still tough.

You’re so exhausted at the end, that the thought of starting again at a blank page might just be enough to give up the writing game. You wrote one book, what more does it want from you?

But you are a writer, and once you scratch that itch, it’s hard to go back to a life where your time isn’t filled with words, characters, and plots.

There’s an in-between stage with manuscripts, though. A magical place where you’re filled with the confidence of knowing you can write an MS from start to finish, and the sparkly possibility of what you can come up with next. But this place has a reputation for making you feel too welcome. For making you stay too long in the zone of “having-just-written” and “waiting for inspiration to strike.”

This land should be your pit stop on the way to the next project, not the place you set down roots. To ensure that doesn’t happen, you need something to keep you afloat in-between.

The In-Between Writing Plan

This plan will help keep you on track as a writing superstar while ensuring you are a rested and inspired writing superstar.

Celebrate

The first step for this plan is to celebrate what you’ve just achieved. Even if it took you weeks, months, years, or decades; celebrate that you wrote a whole MS!

You took ideas that started as barely anything, created whole characters and worlds from scratch, wrote countless drafts (which you kept count of), edited endlessly, filled plot holes, dealt with impostor syndrome, and took feedback on board—and on the chin.

These achievements deserve to be celebrated however you like to do that (dinner out, a vacation, a new book, wine, delicious chocolate).

Give yourself that pat on the back and enjoy it.

Rest

Depending on how you celebrated, you might need a rest, but this rest has to do with all that work you did.

It’s mentally exhausting piecing paragraphs together, especially over a sustained period, so give yourself the chance to rest.

Take a week or two off, or more if you think you can handle it, but beware of slipping into the comfort of not writing. Sometimes such a rest can lead to months or years of never getting back to the keyboard (trust me, I once rested from writing for six years).

Decide

The first real step of any plan is to decide what to work on. Your finished book might have been part of a series and your next project could be the sequel. Or you could be ready to tackle a whole new story, world, or even genre.

In any case, now is the time to decide what you’ll be writing next.

Plan

Now that you know what you’ll be working on, it’s time to plan.

If you’re a planner, this will come naturally to you. Get out those notes and outlines, or start creating them, and work on the shape of your story.

If you’re a pantser, or a mix of the two, and planning is not what you do to kick off a project, you can still use this time to plan how you will get going with your next WIP.

Get Organized

If you’re not a planner, chances are you might not be an organizer too, but for the sake of this writing plan working, you might need to be.

It’s all fun and games to say you will sit down and write, but without some organization behind it, it might not happen.

Adulting, tiny humans, tiny pets, even the laundry can get in the way of a writing session. Being organized by setting aside dedicated writing time is the best chance you have of kicking this project off.

Have everything you need in reach. There’ll be no loopholes of going out to buy more tea and spending half the day shopping or getting your notebook from the other room only to end up caught in a Netflix binge. (I know all your tricks because I do them too!)

Organize what you need to get on track to write.

Get Inspired

All that planning and organization will get you to your desk. What you do at that desk requires some inspiration. That’s right, it’s time to lure your muse, and get the creative juices flowing!

This can be in the form of reading your favorite writers, a favorite thing you’ve written, or listening to a playlist that puts you in a writing mood.

Inspire yourself with whatever gets your creativity going, and move to the next step!

Get Started

The final step is probably the most important—get started!

Yep, all that celebrating, resting, planning, organizing and invoking the inspiration gods will do you no good if you don’t start writing.

Is it daunting looking at a blank page? Yes.

Is it more fun to stay awhile in the zone where you’ve just written and need to celebrate and rest? Yeah, but nobody likes to be the last one at a party.

Is it easier to keep planning and organizing for just a few days more? Sure, but it’s more fun to do something with those plans.

You’ve put in the work. You know you can write a book from start to finish. You even know some shortcuts now, and maybe you even know what you’re doing (kind of?).

Get started. It’s time to put those words on the page and reach “The End” again. You’ve now completed The In-Between Writing Plan and graduated to The Work In Progress Plan.

It might take you weeks, months, years, or decades to finish the WIP, but that’s what a writer does.

Now step away from the TV, stock up the cupboards, ignore the laundry, and start typing!

— K.M. Allan

You can find me on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.

24 thoughts on “The In-Between Writing Plan”

  2. So many good things here. The thing I set on was deciding what to do next. I’ve learned to let the story choose me instead of the other way around. Lesson learned.

    Always good stuff. Thank you for doing this.

    Liked by 1 person

  3. I am not sure if it’s luck or curse but, by the time the first draft of my current project was finished, I already had a decent idea of the second book and a rough idea for the third book of the trilogy, so I could go on with that between editing #1. And now that #2 and #3 have at least early draft, the time when I don’t work on #1 is often spent looking for ways to make #2 and #3 better or think about the plot of possible side-project in the same to-be universe (two separate prequels and a possible follow-up) so I might not have a chance to make my head writing-free for a decade.
    Still, I make sure to care for my body (by hiking) and mind (by reading) when I can and time allows.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I’m in a similar situation, Tomas. I’ve been working on my four book series for years, so once I finish a draft of one book, it’s into the next and just cycling through them all. I haven’t had to think about working on anything else for a long time. Good for you for also taking care of your mind and body.

      Liked by 1 person

  5. It’s so true what you say, once you’ve been bitten by the writing bug you can’t imagine life any other way. I’m so close to the finish now, reviewing beta feedback and then querying. I’m sure I will feel bereft when it’s over, and looking forward to my next project. Thanks for another great post!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. You’re welcome, Naomi. Thanks for reading 😊. I definitely can’t imagine not getting up to write everyday now that it’s a big part of my life/routine. Good luck with finishing up your book. It’s such a huge achievement and I’m sure you’ll do well with the next one too.

      Like

  6. Ruth Miranda

    I think I need the exact opposite plan, I can’t remember a time when I did not go IMMEDIATELY from one writing project into another – whatever the stage of the writing project! If I’m writing a series or trilogy, the moment I finish the draft I’m writing I put it away in a folder and start the next book in the series. If I’ve finished writing said series, I already have another writing project all thought up which I can’t wait to dive into, and I’m usually tackling two or more of these projects at the same time – between writing first drafts, or doing revisions or even the final stages of editing and proof reading before publishing, I tend to work on several different books at the same time. I need a plan that forces me to PAUSE in between books.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Sounds like you never rest, Ruth. I’ve been going from book to book for the last few years trying to complete my series, but can only work on one book at a time. How do you keep working on multiple projects at once straight in your head?

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Ruth Miranda

        I hear it’s called split-personality disorder??? Eheh, I honestly don’t know, it’s the only way I can function. I need to have different projects going round my brain or else I get dispirited. But I do feel like I’m constantly doing stuff and hardly ever pausing, which is ok most of the time because it doesn’t feel like work. Only sometimes I wish I could make myself pause and NOT feel guilty, know what I mean?

        Liked by 1 person

  9. Thanks for that great inspiration! You’ve encouraged me know I’m on the right track. Just finished a project, celebrated, rested, ( and I really needed the rest), after which made a plan for another project, and now enjoying it! Love this ❤👍!

    Liked by 1 person

  10. Yes, to everything you just wrote. It’s so easy to stay in that in between phase. It’s part celebration, part rest and part gathering confidence to start again.
    I always fear that I don’t have another novel in me. What if the past novels were a fluke. What if the next one sucks? But inevitably, it’s all just insecurities.
    The best thing to do is sit down and write. ✍️😬

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Yes! I constantly wonder if I have a different story in me. I haven’t worked on anything but Blackbirch for years, and I’m worried about what I’ll do when it’s done and if I can write anything else. Glad to know it’s not just me that worries about these things 😊. You’re a brilliant writer, Rainy. I’m sure you’ve got a lot more “flukes” in you.

      Liked by 1 person

Comments are closed.